We accelerate your initiatives by aligning your team on which opportunities to pursue (and which ones not to pursue). Also continuing to communicate and reinforce those opportunities as they develop over time.

Our Opportunity Thinking® Principles

Principle 1

Idea vs. Opportunity

Opportunities are the larger areas for growth while ideas are the concepts for products and services that deliver on that opportunity. To use an analogy, think of an idea as a koi fish and an opportunity as a pond. If you put a koi fish in a small fishbowl it will stay small, but in a pond, it grows big. It’s the same with ideas and opportunities – you need a big opportunity to have a big idea. Learning to toggle between ideas and opportunities leads organizations to bigger opportunities and better ideas.

Principle 2

Opportunity =Need + Value + Conditions

The word opportunity comes from ob portu – Latin for “into port”. It came about when new trade routes were formed during the 1300s. Surprisingly it wasn’t referring to the new ports with market needs or the value created from new products. Rather it was the conditions like tide and wind that brought the boat into port. In reality, we need all three – the need in the market + the value platforms from technologies + the conditions that bring the two together.

Principle 3

The Opportunity Middleware

The Opportunity Middleware is the concept that opportunities exist at multiple levels. It goes from a high-level view of opportunity territories into specific opportunity spaces that are unique to your organization. Within each space, there will be a range of idea platforms and various ways to execute against those ideas. The full Middleware bridges the gap between the organizational strategy and the initiatives that will drive growth.

Principle 4

Six Sources of Opportunity

Opportunity is often approached from only one lens, the market, which limits the potential of future opportunities and ideas. Capturing the full breadth of the opportunity requires a broad perspective. Which is why we approach every opportunity with six lenses. In doing so, we create bundles across the Six Sources. By looking across technology, brand expression, business model, market, environment, and the organization we get to more in-depth outcomes and strengthen our understanding of each opportunity.

Principle 5

Engaging the Ecosystem

We believe that to truly understand where opportunity exists, you must engage those who participate, observe and influence the area we’re interested in. There is a vast ecosystem of experts in the world who can provide deep knowledge and understanding of the market needs and conditions. They can stretch our thinking by providing an external perspective on where value and opportunities can be created. Learning how to tap into this network and collaborate is critical to the innovation process. That’s why we not only interact with these individuals, but we bring them to you to engage with directly. This dialogue often provides the richest insight into which opportunities to pursue.